Nice Girls finish last
by Dagenspear
Summary: It's amazing how a single alteration to a conversation can change the path of the Jim/Pam relationship in season three. CHAPTER FOUR IS UP!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** Still don't own jack.

**This was an idea I had and honestly couldn't resist posting it.**

Pam had no real idea of how she'd gotten herself into this position. Sitting with Jim in the break room, giving him relationship advice about Karen. She just wanted to be an objective good friend, and she knew that she'd let Jim down more than any real friend would have, and she needed to make up for that. But trying to be objective was what was getting in her way. Because she wasn't objective. No where near it. Pam loved Jim, and she wanted him to be with her, not Karen. And that just made her try to be even more objective, making her ready to respond with things that would keep them together.

It had just been a simple conversation about Karen moving onto the same street as Jim. 'I think that might be a little close, a little bit much.' And Pam had started her own execution with, 'Well, how far away does she live now? Like, ten minutes?' Then she was about to conclude her downfall, when she stopped herself at, 'Honestly…' It hadn't really occurred to Pam that helping Jim with Karen, would hurt her own chances with him, until that moment. She had just been helping Jim. There was nothing more to it than that. But, in reality, there was so much more to it. Pam just wanted to be honest with her best friend. Problem was, he wasn't just her best friend anymore. She was pretty openly pursuing him now, at least, openly to her. And Karen was the competition. And this was Pam's chance to deal a fatal blow to their relationship. But, she had Jim's confidence. He trusted her. And Pam couldn't betray that. She couldn't be selfish, not when it came to Jim, no matter how much she wanted to be. There had to be a way for Pam to help Jim, but not Karen.

"Honestly, what?"

Jim's voice broke Pam out of her daze and she made a decision on what she would do. "Um… honestly, I think that if this really such a problem for you, then maybe her living so close isn't really the issue. Maybe, you just… don't feel it with her, you know?" Pam really believed that. It wasn't something she was saying, so she could be with Jim. She wanted to be honest, and that's what she was being, honest. "I mean, do you? Do you… feel… a connection?" Pam was really hoping he didn't, that he still felt that with her, like she always had with him. "Because if you don't, then it's not really fair… to her, and especially you, to stay in this." Pam had personal experience in that area.

Jim looked down, slightly upset. "I guess you're right."

Pam couldn't stand Jim being upset by something she said, and started to feel guilty, like she was trying to break Jim and Karen up. And that wasn't true at all. She wanted them to. But, she wasn't trying to do it. She was just trying to be honest with Jim on how she felt about the situation. But Pam started to feel like she had taken it a step too far and pulled back. "But… I'm not exactly a relationship expert, okay? So, maybe I'm not the best person to be getting advice from, right? I mean, my experience really sucks in this area." Pam couldn't help herself, and she reached over and placed her hand onto Jim's hand, lightly grazing her knuckle with her thumb, as she practically suffocated herself, holding back everything the dark side of her wanted to say. She wanted to be a good friend to Jim. And good friends don't do that. So, Pam swallowed her words and gritted her teeth as she said, "Maybe… you just need to talk with her. You know, tell her how feel about this, about everything. That might help." Pam was in physical pain. She didn't want to help Karen. But Jim took priority over that, over what **she** wanted.

Jim looked at Pam's hand on his and almost felt it burn from the sensation of her touch. "Yeah… it might." He looked back up at Pam, and was caught off guard by her glistening beautiful green eyes. Jim hadn't looked into them since he'd gotten back from Stanford and they still took his breath away. Pam was so incredibly gorgeous and beautiful that he had to look back down, away from her, just to resist kissing her in that moment. Jim swallowed hard. "Uh… listen. Thanks, for this, for everything. It really helped."

Helped? Helped with what? What did Pam help Jim with? Was he going to break up with Karen before her advice had she just kept them together? Pam felt like ripping her hair out for her own stupidity. But instead, she forced a smile through her clenched jaw and said, "No problem." Pam felt like she was about to cry. She should've known better. Nice girls finish last.

"Look, I'm just really sorry I dumped all my crap on you like this." Jim almost managed out a chuckle, as he kept his head down, away from Pam.

Pam exhaled a breath, as she quickly wiped the tears away from her eyes, when Jim wasn't looking. "It's okay. Really." Pam suddenly had a desperate need to get off this subject, before she burst into tears in Jim's arms. "I mean, it's better than listening to Michael playing conk shell. Which is… what I was doing."

Jim looked up at Pam and smirked at that.

And Pam smiled a bit back at him. It felt light, and close. Like they were connected. Just like before. So she continued with, "Oh, and also… Michael went to Jamaica with Jan."

"Yeah, how have we not talked about this?" Jim suddenly found himself smiling. Which he didn't do with Karen, at least, not for real. "I mean, what happened there? Kidnapping?"

Pam laughed. She couldn't help it. She missed Jim so much. And she missed the fun and happiness that came with him.

Later on, at Michael's luau, Karen walked up to Pam, looking angry.

Pam would've tried to duck her and hide, but she had been already found, so there was no point.

Karen got up to her, nostrils flaring.

"Did you talk to Halpert earlier?" Karen almost sneered.

Pam screamed in her head. His name is Jim! Not Halpert! Stop calling him that! Karen referring to Jim by his last name had been bugging Pam since she started it. The last name thing belonged to Jim and Pam loved it coming from him, him, and no one else. She'd actually tried it once in response to him calling her 'Beesly' when they first met, to which Jim gave her a look like she'd just committed copyright infringement. And she'd tried for a while after that to come up with a special nick name for Jim, like he'd done for her. But after about a hundred horribly skewed versions of his name, Jim had reassured her that 'Jim' was just fine. He then went on to half-jokingly say, 'But if you call me James, you will face my wrath, Beesly', which, of course started Pam calling him that for about a month just to play around with him. Jim calling her by her last name had made Pam feel like she was special to him, but after hearing him do the same with Karen, she figured she wasn't really that special at all. But that was her fault, not Jim's.

Pam fumbled with her words a bit, trying to answer Karen's fairly simple question. "Oh… uh, yeah, I guess… yeah, yes we did. About nothing really though. Just some… stuff."

"What'd he say to you?" Karen was really mad.

"Ab-about what?" Pam was scared shitless. And she had no idea why. Karen was just scary to her.

"Like you don't know!" Karen took a deep breath and suddenly became upset. "He broke up with me."

Pam was almost slack jawed. But she managed to keep her face stoic. Had she heard her right? Jim had broken up with her. Pam had a chance with him. She was about ready to jump for joy, but the look on Karen's face kept that feeling at bay. She was sad, actually upset about it. There was a vulnerability in her at that moment that made Pam feel horrible about her possible involvement in the whole sitiuation.

After Karen walked away, Pam left the luau and went to the hallway to sit down. She sat down and stared at the floor, feeling guilty. Was it her fault that Jim had broken up with Karen? She hadn't wanted that. She'd just wanted to be honest. Had she really been that pushy? Pam couldn't remember the events clearly.

Pam then heard footsteps and looked up to see Jim.

"Oh. Hey." Jim was a little worn, but he still managed out a smirk to Pam.

"Hey." Pam smirked back.

Jim took a breath, as he gestured to the seat next to Pam. "You mind if I join you?"

"No. It's okay." Pam scooted to the side a bit.

"Thanks." Jim sat down next to Pam. "I had to… get outta there."

"Yeah." Pam felt kinda awkward. "Karen… told me what happened."

Jim looked down, ashamed. "Oh."

Pam swallowed hard. "Was it… was it my fault? I mean… was it because of something I said? Because I swear I didn't mean…"

"No." Jim shook his head, before looking at Pam. "No, not really." He looked back down. "I… haven't felt right with Karen, you know? I mean, she's great and all, just not… for me. I'd been leading her on, and I hadn't let myself see it. And when we talked earlier… you were right. It wasn't fair, to anyone. And I couldn't let it happen anymore."

Pam scooted in close to Jim. "I know it was probably hard."

Jim rubbed his forehead. "It was. I feel horrible. She hates me."

Pam leaned in close. "But at least you did what was right, before it went too far. Most people don't have that kind of strength." Like me. She thought. Pam interlocked her arm with Jim's, gently nudging him. "And hey, you still got me. You'll always have me." Pam smiled at Jim, as he looked at her.

Jim couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks." He nudged Pam back. "That means a lot." Jim exhaled deeply. "So… still better than listening to Michael play a conk shell?" He grinned at Pam.

Pam giggled, as she briefly rested her chin on Jim's shoulder. "Oh, totally. A lot more interesting too."

They both laughed.

**There you go! What'd you think? I know I'm kinda stretched as it is, but I had an urge to do this.**

**Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I, shockingly, don't own this.

**Okay, I'm very sorry for the fuck up with the first story post. Things got messed up when I tried to add something at the end and I somehow deleted that story. So I had to re-post it, with an add on at the ending of Ch One, so check that out if you haven't. Here's Ch Two!**

Jim and Pam were back to themselves.

Since he'd broken up with Karen, Jim and Pam had spent a lot of their time talking, laughing, and even pulling a few pranks on Dwight.

Pam still hadn't told Jim how she felt though. Jim had just gone through a breakup, was still going through it, since Karen was still working there, and that wouldn't be right. Pam wanted Jim to feel safe with her. She wanted him to know that he could trust her with his heart again and not be hurt, not have her smash it to pieces like she had before. She wanted him to love her and trust her again.

Neither Jim nor Karen had told anyone that they'd broken up.

Karen wanted to avoid the office drama. And Jim… didn't real care either way.

Everybody had to go on sales calls and were paired in groups of two's. Jim and Dwight. Andy and Michael. Phyllis and Karen. And Stanley and Ryan.

When Jim got back, Pam told him about the very interesting day with Angela she'd just had.

"No, I'm totally serious…" Pam leaned in over her desk up to Jim and whispered, "I think that Angela and Dwight are… you know?"

"Getting it on." Jim finished.

"Ew!" Pam shook off the gross thought. "Don't say that!"

Jim almost broke out into laughter. He'd felt so alive since he'd started hanging out with Pam again. Like he used to feel. At Stamford he'd been okay, but everything felt so… lifeless to him. "Didn't we have this conversation a year ago?"

Pam laughed. "Yeah. We did. It makes sense though. I mean, they're almost exactly same."

Jim smiled widely down at Pam. "It's entirely possible, Beesly. But, how do you think that that would work exactly? Do you think they butt their heads or rub their backs up against each other or something?"

Pam laughed. And Jim laughed along with her.

They were so preoccupied that they hadn't even noticed that Karen had walked in, straightening her hair from the makeover Phyllis had made her get. She scowled.

Karen then walked up to Jim and interrupted him and Pam. "Hey."

Suddenly the air became so thick and tense that Jim and Pam's smiles dropped from their faces.

Jim let out an awkward, nervous breath of, "Hi."

Karen shot a glance in Pam's direction, making her direct her attention back to her computer.

Karen then looked back to Jim. "I need to talk to you."

Jim cleared his throat. "Um, okay."

Karen walked into the break room and Jim followed, closing the door behind them, as Karen leaned on the vending machine. She then turned around, pissed.

Jim swallowed nervously. "What's this about?"

"Phyllis told me about your little crush on the receptionist." Karen sneered.

"Karen…" Jim started.

But was quickly cut off by Karen. "Is that why you broke up with me?" she asked harshly. "So you could make a go for her?"

Jim almost stuttered. "Um… I… I don't…"

"Because I don't get. I mean, no offense to Pam, but, she's pale, frumpy, kinda dull, and…"

"That's enough!" Jim was suddenly angry. "Look, I'm really sorry for… everything. But, don't you dare attack Pam, okay. Pam is the most kind, warm, loving, amazing person and she doesn't deser…"

"Oh my God." Karen suddenly saw it. "You're in love with her." She was almost disgusted by it. "And you were just… using me to get to her."

Jim's anger dissipated, and he felt guilty again. "No… I… I already told Pam how I felt, before I left for Stamford and she didn't feel the same way. But, you're right. I was using you. And I know that was wrong, okay, I know that. That's why I ended it. I really am sorry, Karen."

"'Sorry' isn't good enough." Karen stepped up close to Jim, seething. "I moved to this shithole for you."

Jim bowed his head. "I know."

"You're so pathetic." Karen spat. "How do you live with yourself? She's never gonna feel the same way about you, ya know. If she didn't before, then she never will. You're gonna be stuck in this little friendship thing, forever. Pam's gonna be with a lot of guys and you're just gonna be her friend standing on the sidelines. And you're never gonna be anything more to her than that. Then, you'll know that you gave up the best thing that ever happened to you, for nothing!" Karen's words sprayed out of her mouth like venom. She then snorted at Jim, sickened by his presence, and left the break room.

Jim was just completely silent, still staring at the floor, letting Karen's words slice away at every ounce of his heart and soul. She was right. He knew she was right. About most of it anyway. Nothing had changed. He still loved Pam. And he was still just a friend to her. What was he doing? Why was he letting Pam do this to him again? Why was he letting her touch him so deeply again? What was wrong with him? Did he have a suicide wish? Was he really not going to be satisfied until she destroyed him so completely that he just wanted to die? Why couldn't he just let her go? Why couldn't he move on? Why couldn't he stop loving her? Karen was right. Nothing had ever or would ever change between them. Pam would never love him. And he felt like a complete idiot for letting himself hope that she would, again.

Jim could feel tears coming to his eyes, but he didn't care enough to wipe them away.

When Karen stormed out, Pam quickly rushed into the break room to check on Jim, carefully entering. "What was that abou…" she stopped dead in her tracks, seeing Jim staring at the floor, upset. "Jim."

Jim, without really even thinking, jerked his head up at his name coming from Pam. He saw her and then instantly regretted it for letting her see him like this.

Pam walked up to Jim, very worried. "Are you okay?"

Jim looked back down, trying to hide his tears. "I'm fine."

Pam's heart broke. She quickly pulled Jim into a hug. "It's okay."

Jim wanted to hug Pam back. But he hesitated, not wanting to allow himself to fall back into her again. He couldn't help it though. She was so warm and comforting that he didn't even care that it was all just a lie. He just wrapped his arms around Pam, holding her tightly, soaking up every bit of her embrace.

Pam whispered to Jim. "It's gonna be okay." She held Jim tightly, clutching him close to her body, feeling almost protective of him, weirdly, like a mother. Pam was so furious at Karen for whatever she'd said to make Jim so upset. The only time she'd ever seen him like this was on Casino Night. And she was the cause of that, and she hated herself for doing that to him. Now, she hated Karen too.

Karen had absolutely no idea what she'd done. Pam had always tried to be civil and sympathetic to people. Anyone. No matter who they were. She couldn't do that now though. She couldn't find that part of herself.

Karen had officially made an enemy out of Pam.

**I really hope you liked this one! I worked very hard on trying to make Karen sound not too over-the-top with her little rant. And I wanted to make Jim alot more sympathetic, which is what I was trying to do when I added that thing at the end of the last Chapter. Because, a reader had some nasty words to say about Jim. And I wanted to make it very clear that Jim really did feel sorry about this, what he did to Karen. Also, could someone please tell me if Stamford is spelled with an 'm' or an 'n'. I honestly don't know. And please bring continuity mistakes to my attention as well. And, just to clarify on something, because Jim and Karen hadn't told anyone about their breakup, Phyllis and Karen still had the same conversation in the car after the sales call.**

**Please, and I mean everyone...**

**Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this chapter took me so long. I wrote it and then re-wrote because I wasn't happy with it and then re-wrote it again. Hope you like!**

Jim sat his desk, as Andy spun in Dwight's old chair at Dwight's old desk. Dwight wasn't working there anymore, for some reason that Jim wasn't completely certain of, and, honestly, Andy was a much bigger aggravation. Him constantly blaring his damn ringtone, alone was almost enough to drive Jim insane.

Pam leaned back on Jim's desk, affectionately touching his shoulder to get his attention. "Hey."

Jim swiveled slightly in his chair to face Pam, and smiled. "Hi." Jim wasn't sure where he was. With Pam, that is. She'd been very… attentive since he'd let himself fall apart in the break room. And he didn't know what that meant. It was probably just her being a good friend. But, somehow, this felt different than that. Then again, it always felt different when he tried to fool himself.

"You feeling better?" Pam had done her best over the past week to show Jim that he could trust her with anything. She wanted him to tell her whatever Karen had said make him so upset, figuring that it would make him feel better. Because whatever it had been, seemed to be weighing on him.

Jim nodded. "Yeah. I am. Thanks."

Pam smiled. "Good. I was just asking, because you seem… kinda tired."

Jim rubbed his eyes. "Yeah. Sleeping's been… a little rough. The whole Karen thing, ya know?" he was at least being half-truthful. But his sleep deprivation was mainly attributed to Pam. As much as he'd tried to not thinking about her, he couldn't stop. For some reason though, it wasn't torturous like it had been before. For some reason, Jim's connection with Pam felt stronger. Everything was perfectly synchronous. Nothing felt out of place, or even awkward between them at all. And that made Jim feel almost safe. But, the idea of feeling completely safe with Pam scared him to death.

"Don't. Don't do that to yourself. It's not your fault that you didn't feel that way about her." Pam was almost getting frustrated with Karen's presence. Sticking around and, every time Pam got Jim to open up, making him shut down with guilt again. Why was she even still here? Why hadn't she just transferred yet? Was she staying solely to make Jim feel horrible about himself? What a bitch.

"She moved here for me though. How big of a jackass does that make me?"

Pam let out a breath. "Well, did you tell her, point blank, to come here? Was it a command?"

Jim rubbed his forehead a bit. "No. But I suggested it. And I…"

Pam cut Jim off. "Then coming here is her own damn fault isn't it?"

Jim smiled a bit. "Yeah, I guess. But, still…"

"No." Pam interrupted. "I'm not hearing anymore of it." She feigned a stern look. "You are going to pull your but out of the pity pool…" her voice became soft again "and lighten up. If she's gonna tear you apart like she did last week, then she's not worth the guilt." Pam scooted herself a bit closer to Jim on his desk, trying to show off her new skirt to him. "Your heart can be used… for better things, than sympathy for Karen." She briefly touched his arm again.

Jim's breath almost caught at the combination of the feel of Pam's touch, and her legs coming out of her skirt, that was shorter (but not too short) than he'd ever remembered her wearing before. He then pulled his eyes back into his head and looked back up at her, smiling. "Okay. Okay. You're right. I shouldn't let this take my attention off more important stuff."

"Like… what?" Pam smiled as she almost let herself blush at her girlie hope that she fell under that category. But, she pushed that away. Back to being friends, first. Trying to be more, second. That had been Pam's plan. But, avoiding a situation where she wanted to kiss Jim was making it harder to stick to all the time. It wasn't like she hadn't always felt this way. She had. Keeping her will power in check had always been a problem when it came to Jim. But after… that night, after kissing him, sober, feeling his hands on her body, his lips on hers and his tongue in her mouth, her desire had become a lot more intense.

"Um… like…" Jim almost felt himself about to tell Pam how much he loved her again, but he resisted. Everything was so much better now, and the last thing he wanted to do was screw that up. He wasn't sure he could take another separation Pam. He'd barely made it through the last one. So, he recovered his joking personality and nodded over to Andy, as if to say to her, 'like pranking annoying coworkers who make it impossible to stay sane'.

And Pam completely understood it. She then almost felt a little disappointed, but that quickly went away as soon as she fully caught that Jim was in the inner workings of a prank. Pam smiled as she immediately felt a rush of giddiness and excitement flow through her. She then raised her eyebrows to Jim as if to say, 'What do you wanna do?'

And, much like Pam, Jim knew exactly what it meant. Her angelic smile mostly gave her away. Pam had always had a horrible poker face. Jim thought for a second, coming with the perfect prank for Andy, and then said to Pam, "Go back to your desk." As he gave her one of his smirks that told her he had a plan.

Pam smiled at Jim as he smiled at her as she practically skipped back over to reception. She knew that Jim, in his typical brilliance, had something great up his sleeve and was very excited about it.

Jim and Pam proceeded to pull their prank together. Jim stole Andy's cell phone and, with Pam's help, hid it in the ceiling panel, having blare over and over again Andy's ring tone, driving him bonkers. Which concluded with him punching a wall.

Jim and Pam later stood, almost in wonder and awe at the hole, as Oscar's party echoed in the background, which they didn't really care about. They were too lost in their own world. As they always were.

Jim touched the hole lightly. "That's about half-inch dry wall."

Pam looked from the hole to Jim. "I think we broke his brain."

Jim and Pam laughed out loud together.

Jim couldn't remember ever feeling this happy. Maybe once. The day he'd met Pam. Before he'd found out that she was engaged. He never wanted this to end. "That is so not freaking funny!"

Pam giggled, as she looked back at the wall, tracing the hole with her fingers, trying to hide the desire she could feel illuminating from her eyes for him. Everything was so perfect. Well… almost perfect. She was so close to the right moment, she could feel it with every beat of her heart.

Jim smiled widely down at Pam, until he briefly glanced over her shoulder to see Karen glaring at them, or… maybe just him. His smile fell.

Pam looked back to Jim. "You know, I think…"she stopped and her smile disappeared when she saw that his was gone and that he was staring at something behind her. Pam didn't need to look to know what it was though. Jim's eyes said it all to her.

Jim swiftly directed his attention back to Pam, attempting to play it off. "Um… I'm gonna… get something to drink. You want anything?"

Pam shook her head. "No. I'm good."

"Okay."

As Jim stepped away from Pam, she jerked her head back behind her, just in time to see Karen re-directing her eyes. Pam then felt an intense anger hit her and resisted the urge to slap Karen's arrogant, bitchy face off. She took in a breath to calm herself down, and then watched as Jim solemnly walked into the conference room and sat down, to which she immediately followed, sitting down in the chair next to him, as he stared down into his cup. Pam spoke first. "I hate that she's doing this to you."

Jim exhaled. "Karen has every right to be angry at me."

Pam gently turned Jim's head so he was looking at her. "Not like this though. Not to you. You are the most amazing guy I have ever met. You don't deserve this."

Jim looked back down. "Maybe I do."

"What?" Pam was perplexed at that.

Jim took a deep breath. "The reason… Karen's so mad at me… it isn't just because I broke up with her. She found out… that I had feelings for you before I left. And she thinks… that I was using her to get to you." He swallowed down his whole drink in one gulp and tossed the cup aside.

"Oh." Pam sat back in her chair. At least now she knew why Karen was holding such a grudge. She still had no right though. Not to this. Not to torture Jim with every look. Even if it was true. Even if Jim would do that. Which he wouldn't. She knew he wouldn't. Pam knew Jim inside and out. Even more so since… that night, which had forced her to re-evaluate every word he had spoken, every look and touch he'd given and see each moment with new eyes. See things that she'd never looked for, never even thought to look for, because she'd figured there was nothing there to see. And now that she'd let herself open up to that, open up to everything… yes. She did know Jim. She knew he'd never use anyone. He was better than that. And, even if he wasn't, even if he would do that, she still loved him. And, a tiny part of her, the dark side, kinda would feel flattered about it. Which, Pam thought was probably what prompted her to ask, "You weren't though, right?" she almost let herself slip and sound a little too hopeful that he had been.

Jim wasn't sure how to answer that. The entire time he'd been with Karen, had he thought about nothing but being with Pam? Yes. Had he been using Karen as a means to get to Pam? No. It wasn't like there was much of a difference between the two things though. He was still a self-centered jackass who had been with someone for the wrong reasons. That didn't change with his motives. But, still, specifically, no. "No. I would never… do that."

"I know." Pam felt a slight twinge of disappointment and then guilt at what she realized she was accusing Jim of. "I know that."

Jim looked back at Pam. "I just feel like… maybe I've been rubbing it in her face. You know, by spending so much time with you."

Pam leaned forward again. "She has no right to blame you for something you felt in the past… or… what you may feel in the future." She placed her hand on Jim's. "Her insecurities are not your responsibility, Jim. Got that?" Pam offered Jim a small smile.

And Jim responded with a wide one. "Thanks for this. I know how aggravating it probably is to deal with all my emotional baggage."

"It's okay. Especially considering that I've made you deal with my share in that past. It's only fair that I deal with yours now. Don't you agree?"

Jim laughed a bit, then nodded. "Very much so." He took a breath. "So, you wanna get back to the party? I think our shining presence is being missed."

Pam laughed. "I think it is."

Jim and Pam stood up and exited the conference room together. Jim, almost immediately caught Karen's glare, which he instantly turned away from.

Pam didn't though.

Pam locked eyes with Karen, who then gave her a dirty look, to which Pam responded (instead of looking away like the old her would have) by shooting her meanest glare at her, catching Karen off guard and forcing her to look away. There was no way Pam was gonna let Karen tear Jim apart again. She was gonna protect Jim, and keep Karen's petty nastiness away from. And doing that, doing what she'd just done, gave Pam a sense of strength and confidence. She'd protect Jim from anything.

**Kinda filler. But this important to where I'm building up to. I hope you like what I'm doing with Pam's character.**

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Please, everyone who reads, please, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** Still own nothing.

**As a favor to a reader I placed, not really an excerpt, but a few lines from Taylor Swift's song "BETTER THAN REVENGE" from her album "SPEAK NOW" which I recomend, especially "BACK TO DECEMBER" which, for some reason, makes me think about the Jim/Pam situation in season three. Now, on a personal note, I must tell you that I am a HUGE fan of Taylor Swift. Not neccesarily that song, at least not at first, but I came to enjoy it quite a bit. Funny enough, my two favorite singers are about as polar opposite as you can get: Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. So, just a little personal tidbit about me. Here you go!**

After Jim had told Pam what had happened between him and Karen, Pam could understand her anger, but couldn't and refused to sympathize with her.

Just the opposite, in fact. Pam was getting more pissed off at Karen with each passing day, due to the fact that she still hadn't given up her guilt trip on Jim. She'd been making clever little comments about how Jim uses things and then throws them away. Of course, in this situation, she could only really make it apply to paper.

The only thing that had kept Pam from doing something about it was Jim's presence. The last thing she wanted to do was put Jim in that position. More than he already was anyway.

Michael being Michael had, of course taken it upon himself, in honor of Phyllis' wedding, to have Jim and Dwight hire strippers for a bachelor and a bachelorette party.

During which Pam finally caught Karen alone in the kitchen.

Pam walked up beside Karen and Karen gave her the most in-sincere smile she'd ever seen.

"Hi." Karen uttered with false enthusiasm, not even looking at Pam.

"Hi." Pam fired back her best fake smile as well. Something she'd mastered in her years with Roy, before she'd met Jim.

Pam lightly tapped her fingernails on the counter, trying to think up something to say that didn't include 'bitch' or 'childish' in the sentence, so as to avoid anything getting back to Jim. "Listen…" Pam started off, still holding her smile in her clenched jaw with much resolve "Jim told me why you're mad at him."

Karen turned to face Pam, her fake smile now gone. "Did he now?" the bitterness echoed like a bottomless pit in her voice.

Karen wasn't even trying to hide it anymore. Pam gritted her teeth and continued. "Yeah..." Her smile was getting really hard to maintain, looking at the woman who'd made Jim, her Jim, break down just a few weeks prior "and I get the anger. No one likes to be broken up with. But… Jim doesn't deserve what you're doing to him. He and I… we're friends, okay? He… doesn't have feelings for me anymore." Pam then felt her smile fade a little right there and the agony in her heart that being with Jim had expelled, return. She wanted so badly to not believe her own words, to not believe that she had driven Jim's heart away from her completely. She forced herself to power through though. "So, you can stop this thing you're doing."

Karen flashed another incredibly in-sincere smile. "What exactly did Jim tell you?"

Pam was starting to feel sick to her stomach. "Enough."

"I'll bet he did." Karen practically sneered with evident sarcasm.

Pam took in a breath. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Karen looked away from Pam, smirking, almost smugly. "Nothing." She then looked back to Pam. "Jim deserves what he gets."

Karen then started to walk past Pam.

Pam could feel her teeth grind against each other. To hell with this. She thought and then stepped directly in Karen's path, her feigned niceness now gone as she glared at her. "You're going to stop harassing Jim, okay." It came out more as a command than a suggestion. Which freaked Pam out a little.

"Excuse me?" Karen was a little taken aback by Pam's directness. She hadn't pegged her as that type.

"You heard me." Pam exhaled. Every bone in her body was screaming for her to run away. Pam didn't have confrontations with people. She avoided them. Just like she avoided everything. Dealing with her horrible relationship. Going through with her art. And finally, and most importantly, accepting her love for Jim. She'd avoided everything in her life that was even remotely scary, everything that could possibly hurt her. And look where she was because of that. Look where Jim was. Pam then remembered Jim crying in her arms in the break room. Jim had always been so brave. He'd always been brave for her. Despite the times she was a complete bitch to him. And it was Pam's turn to be brave for him. She felt her anger and resolve return, remembering that Karen had hurt Jim. "Stop being such a childish bitch." Pam spat out. So much for keeping those words excluded. "You have no right to attack Jim this way." Her voice didn't falter once.

"I 'have no right?'" Karen seethed. "After what he did?"

Pam almost scoffed. "Get over yourself. You and I both know that you are not a saint. You're an actress playing the part of the victim to justify being cruel to the best guy you'll ever find."

"I can get much better than Jim, believe me." Karen's insecurity cracked out through her voice of arrogance.

Pam smirked a bit. "No. You can't. Jim's special, and unique." Pam felt herself stray off, as she thought about everything that was great about him. His smile. His kind, sweet eyes. His heart. And everything around it. "He's the best guy." Pam couldn't think of a single thing she'd change about him. He was perfect. And in her trance, she let it out. "He's perfect." Pam snapped out of herself, coming back to where she was and who she was talking to. "You weren't good enough for him. You didn't deserve him." I do. Pam was actually shocked at that thought as it popped into her head. She'd never really considered that before. That she was good enough for Jim. That she deserved to be with him. She had always wanted to be, but she'd never felt that confident in herself before. Jim was her best friend. And she was his. He told her everything. She was always there for him and knew that she always would be, regardless of how he felt about her. She was pretty (another thought that she'd never really considered before). She would love Jim. She would never try to change him like she knew Karen would have. She'd appreciate him. And take care of him. She would be everything that he needed. And she'd never hurt him again. Ever. Pam knew she'd made mistakes. But she knew better now. She wasn't ignorant anymore. She'd grown. She'd become more than the fears she was instilled with as a child. She WAS more than that now. She WAS what was best for Jim. Yes. Pam was good enough. She deserved to be with him. And she knew that now.

Karen couldn't believe that she was being told this. By a receptionist! She was so pissed off that she'd almost completely missed it. She caught it though. In the midst of all her anger, she saw the truth. Pam was trying to get Jim! She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. All the laughs and touches. It had been so obvious. Karen was then offended that Pam actually thought she was better than her! How dare she? Bitch. There was no way she was going to let Pam get away with this. With anything. Karen swiftly tempered her anger as brought her attention back to Pam. "I'm not stopping." She turned to exit through the other door.

"Yes you are." Once again, it was more like a command. Only this time, it didn't freak Pam out.

Karen stopped, looking back to Pam. "That sounded threatening."

Pam stepped up closer to Karen, very calm. "No. It's not a threat. Just… sometimes a potential client can be transferred to a more deserving salesperson. Accidentally."

Karen clenched her jaw and just stood there in silent rage. How did this happen? How did the pathetic, whiny receptionist do this to her? Make her feel like the pathetic one.

Pam leaned in slightly, even closer to Karen, not mad anymore, not really anything but calm as she simply said in a low voice, "Leave. Jim. Alone." She then simply exited the kitchen.

Leaving Karen, furious, as she practically dug her fingernails into the counter. She was so pissed off. Pam had beaten her. Karen wasn't exactly a good loser, never had been. Losing made her feel powerless. And Karen HATED feeling powerless.

Later on, Pam walked into the Break room to find Jim there, eating chips. "Hey." Jim smiled widely at Pam.

"Hi." Pam smiled just as widely, as she put a few coins into the drink machine and then pressed the coke button.

"So, how was your day?" Jim asked, and then popped a chip into his mouth, followed by giving her a smirk.

Pam pulled her coke out of the machine. "Oh, awesome. You wouldn't think so for two hundred year old man, but Benjamin Franklin's a real flirt."

Jim laughed. "Well, I'm glad you had fun."

"I did." Pam looked up at Jim. "Thanks for that."

"You are very much welcome Beesly." Jim held out his bag of Doritos to Pam, offering her one.

Pam reached into the bag, pulling out a chip. "Yeah, it actually made me realize something."

"And what's that?"

Pam ate the chip. "That I really need a boyfriend."

There was a silence. Not that awkward and not really that uncomfortable. Just a silence. Like they were both waiting for the other to speak up.

Pam looked up at Jim, expectantly, for a few more seconds than she should have, before letting out a breath. "Well, I better get back to work."

Jim nodded. "Yeah." He wasn't sure what else to say.

Pam exited the Break room.

Jim stood there for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons of what he knew his next move would be, before finally rushing out after her. "Hey. Pam. Wait a sec."

Pam swiftly turned around, a little too swiftly. "Yeah?"

Jim let out a heavy breath. "You're not seeing anybody?"

Pam smiled a small smile. "Jim, don't you think I would've told you if I was?"

Jim smiled a bit as well. "I don't know… I figured… personal privacy, you know?"

Pam smiled. "Well, I'm not. I am looking though. But, I'm really picky, and the last time I didn't listen to my picky instincts I wound up in a dead end relationship for nine years, so… I'm gonna stick with them this time." She let out a small laugh at her own personal joke of a relationship, as she looked down a bit, at her can of coke. It wasn't just a dead end. It was a car crash by the hands of a drunk driver that she knew was drunk when she got in, but was peer pressured into regardless. "It's not like I'm unreasonable. I just have a very, **very** specific type. I'd have to have a deep connection with him. And, he has to be…" Pam looked back up at Jim, locking eyes with him "the most amazing guy I've ever met."

Jim knew as he stared into Pam's beautiful eyes that he must've been misinterpreting this. Like he always had. But something deep in his core was screaming that he wasn't. And he wasn't sure which part to listen to.

Pam re-directed her gaze back to her coke, feeling kinda ridiculous about trying to be so obvious. But she stopped herself at that. No. That was something the old Pam would've felt. And being that way, feeling that way, had never gotten her anywhere. She couldn't expect Jim to take her hints after what she'd done to him, after she broke his heart. She had to make a move here. She had to take the initiative this time and be brave for him, like he was that night for her. So she did. "Um… hey. You're going to Phyllis' wedding, right?"

Jim nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Well, because I just…" Pam took in a deep breath. "Do you… do you wanna go… together?"

Jim wasn't sure if he'd heard that right, so he repeated it. "Together?"

As much as Pam wanted to be with Jim, she didn't wanna push him. "Yeah. You know, as friends."

"Oh." Jim felt a little disappointed.

"It could be fun." Pam nervously tapped on her can of coke.

Regardless of the fact that she wasn't talking about a date, the idea of taking Pam anywhere, especially a wedding, made Jim smile. "Yeah. It could be."

"So…?" Pam could feel her bravery waning.

Jim almost let out a nervous laugh, pretending to think about it, and then answered, "Yeah. Yes. I would love to."

Pam couldn't help but smile widely. "Good. Great. That's… that's great." She could barely contain her happiness.

Jim could feel a wide smile spread across his face too. For some reason, he wasn't really that afraid of being hurt by Pam anymore. "Yeah." As a matter of fact, for the first time in years, he could feel his fear dissipate.

Pam gestured back behind her, to the office area. "Well, I better get back." She felt the need to get out of there before she did something a little too brave and screwed this up.

Jim nodded, still smiling. "Yeah. Okay."

Pam turned around, going back into the office, and as soon as she was out of Jim's eyesight, practically jumped for joy. She knew that going to Phyllis' wedding just as friends wasn't that huge. But it was a step.

And Pam knew that that would be the perfect time and place… to finally tell Jim everything.

**GASP! SUSPENSE! I'm just a sucker for cliffhangers, aren't you? At least, cliffhangers that actually MEAN something and not the ones where they leave you hanging with a hopeful kiss, and then take it away with a SECOND rejection. I think we all know what I'm talking about here. Sorry. Little bitter about that. Well... maybe more than a little. Lol.**

**Okay, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. For some weird reason. I've always wanted Pam and Karen to face off, but because Pam is such a kind, loving, warm and decent human being, it just never would've worked... unless, introduce a hurt Jim, due to Karen and then suddenly Pam becomes vicious. Which I really believe Pam would do. Only in protection of Jim, of course... and I guess now her baby, Cece. I would really like your thoughts on Pam's characterization. Did I go too far? Because that was the most difficult thing about this chapter, what the limit was for Pam in protection of Jim. And, I hope you caught my direct call back to the last chapter. "The most amazing guy I've ever met."**

**Oh, and also, wasn't Ricky Gervais being on The Office last week, a fun surprise? It was for me.**

**Please everyone, and I mean EVERYONE who reads this...**

**REVIEW!**


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